Kari Lake appointed by Trump to Jamaica ambassadorship

PHOENIX – President Donald Trump is nominating a two-time Arizona political candidate to an ambassadorship.

What we know:

Per a statement released by the White House on May 11, Kari Lake has been nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica.

The backstory:

Lake had a career in the television industry before she entered the political arena. In 2022, she ran for Arizona governor against Democrat Katie Hobbs, who went on to win the election.

According to the Associated Press, Lake never conceded her loss in the gubernatorial race, and had been involved in a number of election-related lawsuits.

In 2024, she ran against then-Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego for the U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by Kyrsten Sinema. Gallego ultimately won that election.

Lake was chosen by President Trump to lead an agency that oversees Voice of America and other media services like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and she terminated contracts and laid off most of the employees with Voice of America. However, a federal judge ruled in March 2026 that Lake lacked legal authority to dismantle the institution.

What’s next:

According to an annotated version of the U.S. Constitution on the Library of Congress’s website, ambassadors need to be confirmed by the Senate.